1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shoes and a changeable covering that covers the shoe in an fashionable manner. The invention is especially applicable to women's shoes.
2. Prior Art
Often it is desirable to change the appearance of a shoe. This is particularly true in the case of women's shoes, because it may be desirable to match the shoe color or pattern to match a dress for a special function such as a wedding. In the prior art there are techniques to change a shoe's color. One way is to dye the shoe a particular color. This is rather straight forward to do, but once the shoe is dyed it may not be possible to change the color back to the prior color. In general it is easier to dye a shoe a darker color, but more difficult to dye a shoe a lighter color.
Another way to change the shoe color or pattern is to take the shoes to a shoe repair shop that can sew a new covering onto the shoe. This is the method currently used to pattern match a shoes to the color of a dress. For example, for a wedding, the bridesmaids may have their high heel pumps covered with the same material as in their dresses. This cloth, which can have any pattern, would be sewn onto the shoes by the shoe repair shop. The result is a fashionable look; however, the cost of covering a shoe in this manner is quite high. Also once the event, such as the wedding is over, the covered shoes may not be very useful for everyday wear, because, for example, if the shoes are covered to match a particular dress, they will probably not match any other attire in the person's wardrobe.
What is needed is a way to cover a shoe to match a particular dress or attire without permanently changing the shoe. What would be desirable is a changeable shoe covering that could be used for a special occasions and then removed to restore the shoe to its original appearance and then the shoe could be covered again with a different changeable cover, if desired. It should also be possible to wash the changeable cover whenever it became soiled through normal use. Another use of a changeable shoe cover would be to cover a comfortable but badly scuffed shoe to give it a new attractive appearance.